Volume One: Heir of the Sacred Fruit

Chapter One: Stormy Night

Night fell without anyone noticing. The distant mountains gradually blurred into a mass of gray-black shadows. Some indistinct sounds, like the wind blowing, faintly drifted over—most likely the sound of water flowing through the canyon.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a small village.

The houses, built from bamboo strips, wooden slats, yellow clay, and blue tiles, rose and fell with the terrain, displaying the kind of undulating rhythm that people try to capture in paintings.

This village had only a dozen or so households, making it one of the smallest villages at the foot of Bear Wolf Mountain.

Usually, when night fell, everyone would have already returned home. But today was clearly different—the rustling commotion seemed to be growing louder and louder.

In the largest blue-tiled house in the village, more than a dozen people sat in a circle. They were the heads of each household, the men who were the backbone of the village, and the greatest guarantee that this small community could live peacefully at the foot of Bear Wolf Mountain.

The man in the center was about forty years old. He had a rugged face, slightly dark skin, a broad, resolute square jaw. His thick lips were tightly pressed together, and from the slight dimples at the corners of his mouth, two deep, weary lines cut across his cheeks, extending all the way to his chin.

At this moment, he stood up, cupped his fists to those around him, and said with a face full of shame, “Everyone, Jason Clark has let you down again. I’m sorry.”

Although the faces of the dozen or so people here didn’t look good, their eyes showed that they didn’t blame this sturdy middle-aged man in front of them.

An old man shook his head and said, “Village chief, this isn’t your fault. Edward Harris was already a mid-level hunter more than ten years ago. Over these years, Harris Village has been the strongest among all the nearby villages. The fact that you’ve managed to keep our village’s hunting grounds is already a remarkable achievement.”

The others nodded repeatedly. One person even stood up and said, “Village chief, after all, The Miller Family's Eldest Son works for the The Carter Family. As long as we have this connection, Harris Village won’t dare to push us too far.”

“That’s right, it’s been like this for years. We’re all used to it, village chief, you don’t need to blame yourself.” Another person stood up and said loudly, “Actually, everyone knows that if you hadn’t stayed all these years, our village wouldn’t have these privileges at all. We probably wouldn’t even get a share of the hunting grounds. Back then, the village might really have disappeared.”

The dozen or so people all spoke words of comfort, and only then did Jason Clark’s expression improve a little.

He nodded slightly, looked at everyone gratefully, and was just about to speak when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly, as if he was about to lose his balance.

Not only that, but even the teacups on the table began to tremble and clink together. Everyone swayed, and a shower of dust fell from above.

“An earthquake…”

No one knew who shouted, but everyone was shocked.

“Get out, get everyone out of the house!” Jason Clark roared, his voice so loud it made everyone’s ears ring.

But in times of danger, when someone steps up, most people will follow blindly. What’s more, Jason Clark was already the head of the village, so no one would go against his words.

The dozen or so people left the house one after another and ran toward their own homes.

The village wasn’t large, so they quickly returned home and brought out all their family members.

Fortunately, night had just fallen and no one had gone to bed yet, so although things were chaotic, nothing serious happened.

Before long, all the households had gathered on the village square.

An elderly man, well past sixty, looked around in fear and muttered, “What’s going on? There hasn’t been an earthquake in Bear Wolf Mountain for hundreds of years…”

“Rumble…”

Suddenly, a huge clap of thunder sounded in the sky, abruptly cutting off the old man’s words.

Everyone looked up in terror. At some point, the sky had become covered with thick, heavy clouds.

The lightning couldn’t tear through the dense clouds. After the thunder rolled through the low sky, a torrential rain poured down, blanketing everything. The wind and rain lashed down, as if the heavens were weeping and wanted to drown the world. The pitch-black, oppressive night was terrifying, as if it alone ruled the world.

For no reason, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. A few people were about to go home to fetch rain gear, but then felt the ground start to tremble again. This time, no one dared to move. Exposed to the downpour, in just a moment, everyone was soaked to the skin.

“Roar…”

Ferocious roars echoed from the mountain, one after another, quickly resounding through the heavens and earth.

Jason Clark’s face changed dramatically. He cried out, “The wild bears in the mountain are rioting! Brothers, grab your weapons!”